Confusion reigns over new building energy regulations

The government has still not engaged qualified assessors to audit energy efficiency requirements for new buildings two-and-half years after regulations were introduced.

All new dwellings approved by permit issued by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority since January 2, 2007 are supposed to comply with the new regulations and have a certificate to show it. The regulations introduced in 2007 were strengthened further by new measures introduced last January.

But developers and prospective buyers remain in limbo because the government does not have the personnel to enforce the new regulations or direct the developers on the new measures.

New properties since 2007 are meant to abide by a series of regulations, including the need to have walls and roofs of a certain thermal resistance, and proper insulation. Furthermore, buildings with permanently-installed heating and cooling systems need to have thermostat controls, and lighting should have an adequate number of switches to regulate unnecessary energy consumption.

Buildings should also have an adequately-sized reservoir so that rain water can be collected and used for flushing of toilets and, in large developments, for irrigation of green areas.

Sandro Chetcuti, president of the construction sector at the Chamber for Small and Medium Enterprise - GRTU, said confusion reigned when attempting to seek advice since nobody was competent enough to certify new developments or even provide direction on how to meet the requirements.

"Does it mean that developers may have difficulty selling their new property because they do not meet the legal standards?"

The Building Regulations Office Service Division that falls under the Resources Ministry is advertising the first courses to be held for architects and engineers to qualify as (dwellings) assessors. This 22-hour course will host three sittings in May and June against a fee of €825 per participant.

When contacted, a spokesman for the Resources Ministry said: "The reason the course is being held after the publication of the law is that there were some problems in awarding the tender for the software. But the transposition of the (European Union) directive had to be done by a stipulated date."

The spokesman said that buildings with a permit issued before January 2, 2007, did not have to meet the new regulations. But if developments with permits after that date did not comply with the new energy requirements, this would be reflected in an energy performance certificate.

A bad rating on the energy performance certificate can impact the price that buildings can impact from prospective buyers seeking energy efficient homes.

"This will be a penalty in itself. Up to now there are no other penalties imposed," the ministry spokesman said.

The Resources Ministry said it was up to developers to ensure that their buildings met these requirements.

But Mr Chetcuti insisted that developers need to be given an adequate transition period to implement the regulations: "It is unacceptable that the authorities are enforcing regulation that they are not equipped to implement and expecting us to comply."